Electronic device for providing content according to user&#39;s posture and content providing method thereof

ABSTRACT

An electronic device includes a camera configured to capture an image of a user which is watching the electronic device; a controller configured to obtain information regarding a posture of the user based on the captured image, determine whether the posture of the user is acceptable based on the obtained information regarding the posture of the user; and a display configured to display posture correcting content based on a result of the determination.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED PATENT APPLICATION(S)

This is a continuation application of U.S. application Ser. No.13/953,919, filed on Jul. 30, 2013, in the U.S. Patent and TrademarkOffice, which claims priority from Korean Patent Application No.10-2012-0083508, filed on Jul. 30, 2012, in the Korean IntellectualProperty Office, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein byreference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

1. Field

Apparatuses and methods consistent with exemplary embodiments relate toan electronic device that provides content according to a user's postureand a content providing method thereof, and more particularly, to anelectronic device that provides content according to a user's posturebased on a captured image of the user so that the user may correct hisor her posture, and a content providing method thereof.

2. Description of the Related Art

Demands for providing image contents or other contents throughtelevisions (TVs), tablet personal computers (PCs), Internet PCs or thelike have rapidly increased. In addition, as a user spends increasedtime watching such contents, it is desirable to protect the user'shealth by displaying information to assist the user in correcting his orher posture when watching the contents.

In particular, in a case of infants or small children, there is a higherneed for providing content in a way such that the infants or the smallchildren may stay in a correct posture.

In addition, although methods and apparatuses for detecting a bodyposture from an image have been developed, methods and apparatuses forinducing a correct posture of a user who watches content have not beenprovided.

SUMMARY

One or more exemplary embodiments provide an electronic device whichcontrols content that is provided to the user according to a user'sposture in an image captured while the user watches the content so thatthe user may have a correct posture, and a content providing methodthereof.

One or more exemplary embodiments also provide an electronic devicewhich is capable of obtaining information regarding a user's posturebased on an image of the user and providing content for correcting theuser's posture, and a content providing method thereof.

According to an aspect of an exemplary embodiment, there is provided anelectronic device including: a camera configured to capture an image ofa user which is watching the electronic device; a controller configuredto obtain information regarding a posture of the user based on thecaptured image, determine whether the posture of the user is acceptablebased on the obtained information regarding the posture of the user; anda display configured to display posture correcting content based on aresult of the determination.

The display may be configured to display a content for assessing theposture of the user, and the controller may be configured to compare thecontent for assessing the posture of the user and the captured image ofthe user.

The information regarding the posture of the user may includeinformation regarding a skeleton of the user, and the controller may beconfigured to compare the information regarding the skeleton withpredetermined reference information included in the content forassessing the posture of the user, and determine whether the posture ofthe user is acceptable according to a result of the comparison.

The controller may be configured to determine whether a portion of abody of the user is not acceptable, and the posture correction contentmay be for correcting a posture of the portion of the body.

The controller may be configured to obtain a sound of the user which iswatching the displayed content for assessing the posture of the user,and determine the posture of the user is acceptable based on thecaptured image and the obtained sound.

The controller may be configured to reproduce a multimedia content, andcontrol reproduction of the multimedia content according to a result ofthe determination.

The controller may be configured to distort the multimedia contentaccording to the result of the determination.

The controller may be configured to interrupt reproduction of themultimedia content when the posture of the user is not acceptable.

The controller may be configured to provide a notification messageincluding texts to the user when the posture of the user is notacceptable.

The electronic device may further include a communication interfaceconfigured to transmit the posture correcting content to a communicationterminal of the user when the posture of the user is not acceptable.

According to an aspect of an exemplary embodiment, there is provided acontent providing method in an electronic device, the method including:capturing an image of a user which is watching the electronic device;obtaining information regarding a posture of the user based on thecaptured image; determining whether the posture of the user isacceptable based on the obtained information regarding the posture ofthe user; and displaying posture correcting content based on a result ofthe determination.

The method may further include displaying a content for assessing theposture of the user, wherein the determining includes comparing thecontent for assessing the posture of the user and the captured image ofthe user.

The information regarding the posture of the user may includeinformation regarding a skeleton of the user, and the determining mayinclude: comparing the information regarding the skeleton withpredetermined reference information included in the content forassessing the posture of the user; and determining whether the postureof the user is acceptable according to a result of the comparison.

The determining may include determining whether a portion of a body ofthe user is not acceptable, and the posture correction content may befor correcting a posture of the portion of the body.

The method may further include obtaining a sound of the user which iswatching the displayed content for assessing the posture of the user,wherein the determining includes determining the posture of the user isacceptable based on the captured image and the obtained sound.

The method may further include reproducing a multimedia content; andcontrolling reproduction of the multimedia content according to a resultof the determination.

The controlling may include distorting the multimedia content accordingto the result of the determination.

The method may further include providing a notification messageincluding texts to the user when the posture of the user is notacceptable.

The method may further include transmitting the posture correctingcontent to a communication terminal of the user when that the posture ofthe user is not acceptable.

According to an aspect of an exemplary embodiment, there is provided anon-transitory computer readable recording medium having embodiedthereon a computer program for executing the above method.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other aspects will become more apparent by describing indetail exemplary embodiments thereof with reference to the attacheddrawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing a user who watches an electronicdevice for providing content according to a user's posture according toan exemplary embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a schematic flow chart showing a content providing methodaccording to an exemplary embodiment;

FIG. 3 is a detailed flow chart showing a content providing methodaccording to an exemplary embodiment;

FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing a method of providing content for healthassessment by using accumulated information regarding a viewing postureaccording to an exemplary embodiment;

FIG. 5 is a flow chart showing a method of providing posture correctingcontent according to an exemplary embodiment;

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an electronicdevice that provides content according to an exemplary embodiment;

FIG. 7 is a schematic view for explaining a method of determiningwhether a user's posture is acceptable according to an exemplaryembodiment;

FIG. 8 is a schematic view showing an example in which a posturecorrecting content is provided to another device according to anexemplary embodiment;

FIG. 9A is a schematic view showing an example in which content isreproduced in an electronic device;

FIG. 9B is a schematic view showing an example in which resolution of acontent reproduction screen of an electronic device is changed accordingto an exemplary embodiment;

FIG. 9C is a schematic view showing an example in which an image layoutof a content reproduction screen of an electronic device is changedaccording to an exemplary embodiment;

FIG. 9D is a schematic view showing an example in which a notificationmessage is output to a content reproduction screen of an electronicdevice according to an exemplary embodiment;

FIG. 9E is a schematic view showing an example in which a contentreproduction screen of an electronic device is divided into a pluralityof regions to which content and a captured image of a user arerespectively output according to an exemplary embodiment; and

FIG. 10 is a schematic view for explaining a method for assessing auser's posture according to an exemplary embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments will now be described more fully withreference to the accompanying drawings. The exemplary embodiments may,however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construedas being limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, theseembodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough andcomplete, and will fully convey the scope of the disclosure to thoseskilled in the art. For example, configuring elements that are singularforms may be executed in a distributed fashion, and also, configuringelements that are distributed may be combined and then executed. In thefollowing description, well-known functions or constructions are notdescribed in detail since they would obscure the disclosure withunnecessary detail. Also, throughout the specification, like referencenumerals in the drawings denote like elements.

Throughout the specification, it will also be understood that when anelement is referred to as being “connected to” another element, it canbe directly connected to the other element, or electrically connected tothe other element while intervening elements may also be present. Also,when a part “includes” or “comprises” an element, unless there is aparticular description contrary thereto, the part can further includeother elements, not excluding the other elements. Expressions such as“at least one of,” when preceding a list of elements, modify the entirelist of elements and do not modify the individual elements of the list.

FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing a user who watches an electronicdevice 100 for providing content according to a user's posture accordingto an exemplary embodiment.

According to an exemplary embodiment, the electronic device 100 mayprovide content to a user 110 and may control the content according to aposture of the user 110 who watches the content.

For example, the electronic device 100 may capture an image of the user110, and when the posture of the user 110 in the image is acceptable,the electronic device 100 normally provides content. On the other hand,in an exemplary embodiment, when the posture of the user 110 isunacceptable, the electronic device 100 may distort the content changethe content by controlling a content providing screen.

Here, the content providing screen or a content reproduction screenrefers to controlling of content reproduction.

FIG. 2 is a schematic flow chart showing a content providing methodaccording to an exemplary embodiment.

First, the electronic device 100 reproduces content (operation S210).

Here, the content is information provided to a user, and may include,for example, a video, a static image, or an audio signal. In addition,for example, the electronic device 100 may reproduce content such as amovie.

Next, the electronic device 100 generates an image by capturing apicture of the user 110 (operation S220).

Next, the electronic device 100 obtains information regarding a viewingposture from the image of the user (operation S230).

The information regarding the viewing posture is information obtainedfrom a shape of the user 110 in the image. The information regarding theviewing posture may include, for example, a silhouette of the user 110,a skeleton, a shoulder line, and a neck line of the user 110, symmetricinformation, a position of eyes of the user 110, a depth of the image,and a distance between the electronic device 100 and the user 110.

Next, the electronic device 100 determines whether a posture of the user110 is acceptable based on the information regarding the viewing posture(operation S240).

According to an exemplary embodiment, the shoulder line of the user 110may be compared with a predetermined reference line. When an anglebetween the shoulder line of the user 110 and the reference line isequal to or more than a predetermined angle, it may be determined thatthe posture of the user 110 is unacceptable.

According to another exemplary embodiment, the electronic device 100 maytransmit the image generated in operation S220 to a communicationterminal 680 as shown in FIG. 6, which is communicatively connected tothe electronic device 100. A user of the communication terminal 680which receives the image from the electronic device 100 may inputinformation regarding a reference posture to the communication terminal680. For example, the user of the communication terminal 680 may inputan outline of his or her desired posture as the reference posture. Thecommunication terminal 680 may transfer the input information regardingthe reference posture to the electronic device 100. In operation 240,the electronic device 100 may compare the information regarding theviewing posture obtained from the shape of the user 110 in the imagegenerated in operation S220 with the reference posture to control thecontent reproduction screen. For example, when the information regardingthe viewing posture does not correspond to the outline of the posture,i.e., the reference posture, received through the communication terminal680, an image on the content reproduction screen may be distorted sothat the content may not be normally provided. Therefore, it is possibleto induce a correct posture of the user 110 by providing undistortedcontent only when the user 110 has the reference posture that is inputto the communication terminal 680.

When the user's posture is determined to be unacceptable, the electronicdevice 100 controls the content reproduction screen (operation S250).

In this case, the electronic device 100 may control the contentreproduction screen to assist the user 110 to correct his or her currentposture into an acceptable posture.

FIG. 3 is a detailed flow chart showing the content providing methodaccording to an exemplary embodiment.

First, the electronic device 100 reproduces content (operation S310).

The content to be reproduced may include image content such as a movie.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 10, the content to be reproduced may becontent for assessing health of the user.

Next, the electronic device 100 generates an image by capturing apicture of the user 110 (operation S320).

Next, information regarding a viewing posture of the user is obtainedfrom the image of the user (operation S330).

Here, according to an exemplary embodiment, the information regardingthe viewing posture may include information regarding a skeleton of theuser which is obtained from the image of the user.

Next, the electronic device 100 determines whether a posture of the user110 is acceptable based on the information regarding a viewing posture(operation S340).

The information regarding the viewing posture may include informationregarding the skeleton of the user. The information regarding theskeleton of the user may include information regarding an angle of ajoint, an alignment of a shoulder skeleton, and the like.

In addition, according to an exemplary embodiment, information regardingthe viewing posture may include a position of the eyes, a posture of anupper body, a shoulder line, a neck line, and symmetric information of auser's face obtained from the image of the user.

According to an exemplary embodiment, the electronic device 100 comparesthe information regarding the skeleton of the user, which is included inthe information regarding the viewing posture, with referenceinformation, and may determine whether the posture of the user 110 isacceptable according to the comparison result.

In addition, according to another exemplary embodiment, the electronicdevice 100 may determine whether the user's posture is inclined based onthe position of the eyes, the posture of the upper body, the shoulderline, the neck line, the symmetric information of the user's face, andthe like. When the user's posture is inclined at an angle that is equalor more than a reference value, the electronic device 100 may determinethat the user's posture is not acceptable.

In addition, according to an exemplary embodiment, when the electronicdevice 100 determines that the user's posture is not acceptable, theelectronic device 100 may transmit the image obtained by capturing animage of the user to the communication terminal 680.

For example, when the electronic device 100 determines that a posture ofa child who views content is not acceptable, the electronic device 100may transmit an image obtained by capturing a picture of the child to apredetermined communication terminal of a parent of the child to allowthe parent to correct a viewing posture of the child.

Next, when the electronic device 100 determines that the user's postureis not acceptable, the electronic device 100 controls an image on thecontent reproduction screen which is reproduced in S310 (operationS350).

In an exemplary embodiment, the image on the content reproduction screenmay be distorted. For example, the electronic device 100 may output animage on the screen in which at least one of a definition, a resolution,a color tone, a chroma, and a brightness is changed, or an image layoutis changed, or an image form is modified.

According to an exemplary embodiment, the electronic device 100 mayoutput an image on the content reproduction screen of which resolutionis changed as shown in FIG. 9B from that of a content reproductionscreen as shown in FIG. 9A.

According to another exemplary embodiment, the electronic device 100 mayoutput an image layout changed as shown in FIG. 9C from that of thecontent reproduction screen as shown in FIG. 9A.

In addition, the electronic device 100 may interrupt display of theimage on the reproduction screen.

In addition, the electronic device 100 may generate a notificationmessage to be output to the content reproduction screen.

According to an exemplary embodiment, the electronic device 100 mayoutput the notification message as shown in FIG. 9D.

In addition, the content reproduction screen may be divided into aplurality of regions, and the content reproduction screen and the imageobtained by capturing the user may be output to each of the regions.

According to an exemplary embodiment, when the user's posture isdetermined to be unacceptable while the image on the contentreproduction screen as shown in FIG. 9A is output, the contentreproduction screen may be divided as shown in FIG. 9E. The image on thecontent reproduction screen and the image obtained by capturing the usermay be output to each of the regions.

Next, when the reproduction of content is not finished (operation S360),the electronic device 100 may capture the image of the user again(operation S320).

When the user's posture is determined to be acceptable in operationS340, original content that is reproduced in operation S310 isreproduced (operation S355).

For example, when a distorted image on the content reproduction screenis output in operation S350 and the user's posture became acceptable,the original undistorted content reproduced before the distortion may bereproduced in operation S355.

In another example, when the content reproduction screen interruptsdisplaying content in operation S350, the content may be againreproduced on the reproduction screen in operation 355.

In still another example, when the notification message is displayed onthe content reproduction screen in operation S350, the notificationmessage may be removed from the content reproduction screen in operation355.

In still another example, when the content reproduction screen isdivided into a plurality of regions and the image on the contentreproduction screen and the image obtained by capturing the user areoutput to each of the regions in operation S350, the image on thecontent reproduction screen may be output to an entire screen inoperation 355.

Next, when the reproduction of the content is completed, the contentproviding method ends (operation S360).

FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing a method of providing content for healthassessment by using accumulated information regarding a viewing postureaccording to an exemplary embodiment.

First, the electronic device 100 may accumulate the informationregarding the viewing posture which is obtained in operation S330 andstore the information.

In addition, the electronic device 100 may calculate a statistical valuewith respect to the accumulated information regarding the viewingposture.

For example, the electronic device 100 may calculate the number ofreceiving of information regarding the viewing posture that isdetermined to be unacceptable by using the accumulated informationregarding the viewing posture. In other words, the electronic device 100may calculate the number of receiving of information regarding theviewing posture that is determined to be unacceptable from theaccumulated information regarding the viewing posture during apredetermined period of time, e.g., one hour.

In another example, the electronic device 100 may obtain a statisticabout whether the posture is not acceptable by determining which bodypart such as a shoulder or a waist is not in a correct posture by usingthe accumulated information regarding a viewing posture. In other words,it is possible to classify information regarding a viewing posture thatis determined to be unacceptable depending on whether an unacceptableviewing posture is due to, for example, an inclined shoulder, a waistposture, or a neck posture and calculate the number of informationregarding a viewing posture according to the classification.

Next, the electronic device 100 may output the information regarding aviewing posture which is accumulated and stored (operation S420).

For example, it is possible to output to a screen the informationregarding a viewing posture that is accumulated and stored in a form ofa table.

Accordingly, the electronic device 100 may provide content, e.g.,content for health assessment, according to the information regarding aviewing posture which is accumulated and stored.

According to an exemplary embodiment, when the number of informationregarding a viewing posture that is determined to be unacceptable isequal to or higher than a predetermined value, the content for healthassessment may be provided.

For example, when the number of information regarding a viewing posturethat is determined to be unacceptable during the content reproduction isequal to or higher than 10, it is possible to instruct the user to adopta specific posture as shown in FIG. 10, and an image of the user in thenew posture is captured, thereby providing the content for assessing theuser's health.

Here, according to an exemplary embodiment, it is possible to allow theuser to select content to be reproduced from a list of contents forhealth assessment, or the contents for health assessment may beimmediately reproduced.

FIG. 5 is a flow chart showing a method of providing posture correctingcontent according to an exemplary embodiment.

First, the electronic device 100 obtains information regarding a user'sposture (operation S510).

Here, the content for assessing the user's health may be reproducedduring operation 510.

For example, as shown in FIG. 10, the information regarding a user'sposture may be obtained by suggesting the user to adopt a specificposture and by capturing an image of the user in the suggested posture.In other words, the posture of the user in the image is compared withthe reference posture, and information such as flexibility, thealignment of a shoulder line, and a degree of bending in a spine of theuser may be obtained according to the comparison result.

In addition, according to an exemplary embodiment, the electronic device100 may obtain gesture or voice information of the user as additionalinformation, and may obtain information regarding a user's posture basedon the information regarding a viewing posture and the additionalinformation.

For example, as shown in FIG. 10, the information regarding a user'sposture may include a posture that is difficult for the user to adoptdetermined by using, as additional information, a sound that the userproduces when the user adopts a specific posture.

Next, the electronic device 100 may provide a posture correcting contentaccording to the information regarding a user's posture (operationS520). For example, the electronic device 100 may compare theinformation regarding a user's posture with reference information.According to the comparison result, for example, when a user's waistposture is determined to be unacceptable, a posture correcting contentwith respect to the user's waist may be reproduced.

According to an exemplary embodiment, it is possible to allow the userto select the posture correcting content to be reproduced from a list ofposture correcting contents, or the posture correcting content may beimmediately reproduced.

Next, the electronic device 100 may transmit the posture correctingcontent to another electronic device so that the user 110 may receivethe posture correcting content through another electronic device(operation S530).

For example, it is possible to allow the user to receive the posturecorrecting content from a TV through a tablet PC.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a configuration of the electronicdevice 100 that provides content according to an exemplary embodiment.

The electronic device 100 according to an exemplary embodiment mayinclude a content provision unit 610 that reproduces content to beprovided to the user 110, a posture information obtaining unit 620 thatcaptures an image of the user 110 who views the content and obtainsinformation regarding a viewing posture of the user 110 from the imageof the user, a determination unit 630 that determines whether a postureof the user is acceptable based on the information regarding a viewingposture of the user, a content control unit 640 that controls a contentreproduction screen according to the determination result of thedetermination unit 630, and a control unit 600 that controls each unitof the electronic device 100.

In addition, the electronic device 100 may further include atransmission unit 650 that transmits the image on the contentreproduction screen or the image obtained by capturing the image of theuser to the communication terminal 680, and a storage unit 670 thatstores the information regarding a viewing posture of the user. Theposture information obtaining unit 620 may obtain information regardinga posture of the user 110.

The content provision unit 610 reproduces and outputs content to theuser 110.

According to an exemplary embodiment, the content provision unit 610 mayoutput content that is controlled by the content control unit 640. Thecontent may be distorted by the content control unit 640.

According to another exemplary embodiment, when the content provisionunit 610 determines that the user's posture is not acceptable, thecontent provision unit 610 may stop the content from being reproduced.

In addition, when the provision unit 610 determines that the user'sposture is acceptable, the content provision unit 610 may reproduce thestopped content again.

According to an exemplary embodiment, when the determination unit 630determines that the user's posture is not acceptable, the contentprovision unit 610 may output a notification message to the contentreproduction screen. In addition, when the determination unit 630 laterdetermines that the posture of the user 110 becomes acceptable, thenotification message displayed on the content reproduction screen may beremoved.

According to another exemplary embodiment, when the determination unit630 determines that the user's posture is not acceptable, the contentreproduction screen may be divided into a plurality of regions, and thecontent and the image obtained by taking a picture of the user 110 maybe displayed in each of the regions.

In addition, according to another exemplary embodiment, the contentprovision unit 610 may output the information regarding a viewingposture of the user which is accumulated and stored.

Here, the content provision unit 610 may provide content for assessingthe user's health according to the information regarding a viewingposture of the user which is accumulated and stored.

For example, when the number of receiving of information regarding aviewing posture that is determined to be unacceptable is equal to orhigher than a predetermined number, the content for assessing the user'shealth may be provided.

In addition, according to another exemplary embodiment, a posturecorrecting content may be provided based on the information regarding aviewing posture which is obtained by the posture information obtainingunit 620.

For example, when the information regarding a viewing posture includesinformation indicating that a waist posture of the user 110 is notacceptable, a waist posture correcting content may be provided.

The posture information obtaining unit 620 obtains the informationregarding a viewing posture of the user 110 by capturing an image of theuser 110 who views the content.

The determination unit 630 determines whether the user's posture isacceptable based on the information regarding a viewing posture of theuser.

Here, the information regarding a viewing posture includes informationregarding a user's skeleton, and the determination unit 630 may comparethe information regarding a user's skeleton with predetermined referenceinformation and may determine whether the user's posture is acceptableaccording to the comparison result.

In addition, according to another exemplary embodiment, the contentprovision unit 610 may provide the posture correcting content based onthe information regarding a viewing posture.

The content control unit 640 controls a content reproduction screenaccording to the determination result of the determination unit 630.

According to an exemplary embodiment, when the content control unit 640determines that the posture of the user 110 is not acceptable, thecontent control unit 640 may control the content provision unit 610 toprovide distorted content to be reproduced.

Here, the content control unit 640 may change at least one of, forexample, the definition, the color tone, the chroma, the brightness, andthe image form of the content to distort the content.

In addition, while the content provision unit 610 reproduces thedistorted content, when the determination unit 630 determines that theposture of the user 110 is acceptable, the content control unit 640 maystop the distortion with respect to the content.

The transmission unit 650 may transmit the image on the contentreproduction screen or the image obtained by capturing an image of theuser to the communication terminal 680.

According to an exemplary embodiment, when the determination unit 630determines that the user's posture is not acceptable, the transmissionunit 630 may transmit the image obtained by capturing the user to thecommunication terminal 680.

According to another exemplary embodiment, the posture informationobtaining unit 620 may obtain the information regarding a posture of theuser 110.

For example, it is possible to allow content for assessing a user'swaist posture to be reproduced by the content provision unit 610, and itis also possible to instruct the user to adopt a posture according tothe content for measuring the posture provided to the user. Here, theposture information obtaining unit 620 may obtain information regardingthe posture adopted by the user 110. The content provision unit 610 mayreproduce the posture correcting content based on the informationregarding the posture. For example, according to results obtained bycomparing the information regarding the posture with predeterminedreference information, when the user's waist posture is determined to beunacceptable, a posture correcting content with respect to the waist maybe reproduced.

According to an exemplary embodiment, the posture information obtainingunit 620 may transmit the information regarding a viewing posture to aserver 690. The server 690 may transmit, to the electronic device 100,information regarding a posture generated based on the transmittedinformation regarding a viewing posture.

According to another exemplary embodiment, the posture informationobtaining unit 620 may obtain information regarding a user's posturebased on additional information obtained by an additional informationobtaining unit (not shown). For example, when a user waves his or herhand or when a user produces a sound while attempting to perform aspecific operation, the specific operation may be determined to bedifficult for the user to perform. The information regarding a user'sposture may be generated according to the operation that is difficultfor the user to perform.

According to an exemplary embodiment, the transmission unit 650 maytransmit the posture correcting content provided by the contentprovision unit 610 to the communication terminal 680 as shown in FIG. 8.

The storage unit 670 may store the information regarding a viewingposture of the user 110.

For example, the information regarding a viewing posture of the user 110is accumulated and stored, and the number of receiving of informationregarding a viewing posture that is determined to be unacceptable by thedetermination unit 630 while the user 110 watches the content may beaccumulated and stored in the form of a table.

Although not shown in the drawing, in an exemplary embodiment, theelectronic device 100 may further include the additional informationobtaining unit that obtains additional information may include at leastone of gesture and voice information of the user 110.

For example, the additional information obtaining unit may detect auser's gesture from an image obtained by capturing a picture of the userwith a camera, or may receive the input of a user's voice via amicrophone.

FIG. 7 is a schematic view for explaining a method of determiningwhether a user's posture is acceptable according to an exemplaryembodiment.

The electronic device 100 obtains posture information 720 from an image710 that is obtained by, for example, photographing the user 110. Here,the posture information 720 may be information regarding a viewingposture of a user.

According to an exemplary embodiment, as shown in FIG. 7, a joint or ashape of a skeleton of the user 110 may be recognized from informationregarding an outline and a depth of the image 710. The informationregarding the viewing posture 720 may include information regarding theposition of the recognized joint or the shape of the skeleton of theuser 110.

The electronic device 100 may compare the obtained posture information720 regarding the viewing posture with predetermined referenceinformation 730 to determine whether a posture of the user 110 isacceptable.

FIG. 8 is a schematic view showing an example in which the posturecorrecting content is provided to another device according to anexemplary embodiment.

According to an exemplary embodiment, the electronic device 100 maytransmit content to be reproduced to another terminal of the user, e.g.,the communication terminal 680.

For example, while posture correcting content, e.g., content related toyoga may be reproduced on a TV, the user may control the same contentrelated to yoga to be reproduced on, for example, a portable terminal ofthe user. Therefore, the user may use the posture correcting content ina place where a TV is not provided.

FIG. 9A is a schematic view showing an example in which content isreproduced in the electronic device 100.

As shown in FIG. 9A, the electronic device 100 may reproduce contentincluding an image.

FIG. 9B is a schematic view showing an example in which resolution of acontent reproduction screen of the electronic device 100 is changedaccording to an exemplary embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 9B, when a posture of a user is determined to beunacceptable, the electronic device 100 may restrict use of content bychanging the resolution of the content reproduction screen.

FIG. 9C is a schematic view showing an example in which an image layoutof the content reproduction screen of the electronic device 100 ischanged according to an exemplary embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 9C, when a user's posture is determined to beunacceptable, the electronic device 100 may divide the contentreproduction screen and may change and reproduce the image layout of thedivided screen to restrict the use of the content.

FIG. 9D is a schematic view showing an example in which a notificationmessage is output to the content reproduction screen of the electronicdevice 100 according to an exemplary embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 9D, when a user's posture is determined to beunacceptable, the electronic device 100 may output the notificationmessage to the content reproduction screen to notify that the user'sposture is not acceptable.

FIG. 9E is a schematic view showing an example in which the contentreproduction screen of the electronic device 100 is divided into aplurality of regions to which an image of content and an image that isobtained by capturing a user are respectively output according to anexemplary embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 9E, when a user's posture is determined to beunacceptable, the electronic device 100 may output both the image of thecontent and the image that is obtained by capturing the user.

FIG. 10 is a schematic view for explaining a method for assessing auser's posture according to an exemplary embodiment.

According to an exemplary embodiment, the electronic device 100 mayprovide reference posture content 1000.

When the user 110 adopts a posture according to the provided referenceposture content 1000, the electronic device 100 may capture an image1010 of the user.

The electronic device 100 may obtain information regarding a posture ofthe user 110 based on the image 1010. The information regarding aposture of the user 110 and the reference posture content 1000 may beused to assess the user's posture, i.e., whether the user's posture isacceptable.

The one or more exemplary embodiments may be embodied as anon-transitory recording medium, e.g., a program module to be executedin computers, which include computer-readable commands. Thenon-transitory recording medium may include any usable medium that maybe accessed by computers, volatile and non-volatile medium, anddetachable and non-detachable medium. Also, the non-transitory recordingmedium may include a computer storage medium and a communication medium.The computer storage medium includes all of volatile and non-volatilemedium, and detachable and non-detachable medium which are designed tostore information including computer readable commands, data structures,program modules or other data. The communication medium includescomputer-readable commands, a data structure, a program module, andother transmission mechanism, and includes other informationtransmission mediums.

Although a few exemplary embodiments have been shown and described, itwill be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that variouschanges in form and details may be made therein without departing fromthe spirit and scope of the inventive step as defined by the followingclaims.

What is claimed is:
 1. An electronic device comprising: a cameraconfigured to capture an image of a user which is watching theelectronic device; a controller configured to obtain informationregarding a posture of the user based on the captured image, determinewhether the posture of the user is acceptable based on the obtainedinformation regarding the posture of the user; and a display configuredto display posture correcting content based on a result of thedetermination.
 2. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the displayis configured to display a content for assessing the posture of theuser, and the controller is configured to compare the content forassessing the posture of the user and the captured image of the user. 3.The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the information regarding theposture of the user comprises information regarding a skeleton of theuser, and wherein the controller is configured to compare theinformation regarding the skeleton with predetermined referenceinformation included in the content for assessing the posture of theuser, and determine whether the posture of the user is acceptableaccording to a result of the comparison.
 4. The electronic device ofclaim 1, wherein the controller is configured to determine whether aportion of a body of the user is not acceptable, and wherein the posturecorrection content is for correcting a posture of the portion of thebody.
 5. The electronic device of claim 2, wherein the controller isconfigured to obtain a sound of the user which is watching the displayedcontent for assessing the posture of the user, and determine the postureof the user is acceptable based on the captured image and the obtainedsound.
 6. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the controller isconfigured to reproduce a multimedia content, and control reproductionof the multimedia content according to a result of the determination. 7.The electronic device of claim 6, wherein the controller is configuredto distort the multimedia content according to the result of thedetermination.
 8. The electronic device of claim 6, wherein thecontroller is configured to interrupt reproduction of the multimediacontent when the posture of the user is not acceptable.
 9. Theelectronic device of claim 1, wherein the controller is configured toprovide a notification message including texts to the user when theposture of the user is not acceptable.
 10. The electronic device ofclaim 1, further comprising: a communication interface configured totransmit the posture correcting content to a communication terminal ofthe user when the posture of the user is not acceptable.
 11. A contentproviding method in an electronic device, the method comprising:capturing an image of a user which is watching the electronic device;obtaining information regarding a posture of the user based on thecaptured image; determining whether the posture of the user isacceptable based on the obtained information regarding the posture ofthe user; and displaying posture correcting content based on a result ofthe determination.
 12. The method of claim 11, further comprising:displaying a content for assessing the posture of the user, and whereinthe determining comprises comparing the content for assessing theposture of the user and the captured image of the user.
 13. The methodof claim 11, wherein the information regarding the posture of the usercomprises information regarding a skeleton of the user, and wherein thedetermining comprises: comparing the information regarding the skeletonwith predetermined reference information included in the content forassessing the posture of the user; and determining whether the postureof the user is acceptable according to a result of the comparison. 14.The method of claim 11, wherein the determining comprises determiningwhether a portion of a body of the user is not acceptable, and whereinthe posture correction content is for correcting a posture of theportion of the body.
 15. The method of claim 12, further comprising:obtaining a sound of the user which is watching the displayed contentfor assessing the posture of the user, and wherein the determiningcomprises determining the posture of the user is acceptable based on thecaptured image and the obtained sound.
 16. The method of claim 11,further comprising: reproducing a multimedia content; and controllingreproduction of the multimedia content according to a result of thedetermination.
 17. The method of claim 16, wherein the controllingcomprises: distorting the multimedia content according to the result ofthe determination.
 18. The method of claim 11, further comprising:providing a notification message including texts to the user when theposture of the user is not acceptable.
 19. The method of claim 11,further comprising: transmitting the posture correcting content to acommunication terminal of the user when that the posture of the user isnot acceptable.
 20. A non-transitory computer readable recording mediumhaving embodied thereon a computer program for executing the method ofclaim 11.